A new fund is scouting the Midwest region for investments, with the ultimate goal of providing early-stage capital to underrepresented founders.
Sixty8 Capital is the brainchild of Kelli Jones, its managing partner who is based in Indianapolis, and Paul Ehlinger, a Cincinnati-based venture capitalist with Allos Ventures, which is helping provide back-office support to Sixty8 Capital. This week, Jones and Ehlinger announced they have closed the first part of a $20 million fund to invest in 25 to 30 pre-seed and seed-stage companies led by founders who are traditionally passed by other investors. This includes Black, Latino, LGBT and women founders, among others.
In an interview with Cincy Inno, Ehlinger said he met Jones, who also founded the nonprofit, Be Nimble, at one of her conferences in 2017. The pair shared a mutual desire to boost minority founders' access to capital. But it wasn't until the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd sparked a national conversation about race and equity that they reconnected and combined their efforts.
"We believe there is an opportunity to truly level the playing field when it comes to capital access for diverse founders in any industry," Jones said in a statement. "There is a $4 trillion missed opportunity when we don't put a focus on diverse founders."
Ehlinger said Sixty8 Capital chose to offer early-stage investments, often the riskiest, since that type of funding typically is pooled together through personal resources, which diverse founders historically have struggled to do.
The duo have already selected their first investment: Qualifi, an Indianapolis-based software firm that helps recruiters improve their hiring efficiency and effectiveness. But Indianapolis isn't the only city that stands to gain momentum from Sixty8 Capital, Ehlinger said.
He's hoping the fund will add further fuel to Cincinnati's reputation as a welcoming environment for diverse founders — a reputation that was boosted last June when locally-based Lightship Capital announced a $50 million fund for underrepresented founders.
"Now you have two sources of capital with Lightship and Sixty8. Not many cities can boast that," Ehlinger said. "There are a ton of companies up and coming here that are looking for this type of capital and a ton of companies doing well.
"I’m excited about making Cincinnati a hub for diverse founders," he added.
